A picture released by the US Navy shows the guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) (L) and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transiting the Strait of Gibraltar on August 3, 2013 on their way to the Mediterranean Sea. US forces are “ready to go” if called on to strike the Syrian regime, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told the BBC on August 27, 2013, saying evidence pointed to its use of chemical weapons. The Pentagon chief said forces had been deployed as needed and President Barack Obama had reviewed military options presented by commanders.

The White House is making a legal argument for undertaking a military response to the use of chemical weapons against civilians in Syria, but says any action taken against the Syrian regime is not intended to depose Syrian President Bashar Assad.

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The first solar eclipse to cross the continental United States in nearly a century comes at an especially inopportune time for many employers. From 10:15 a.m. Pacific until just before 3 p.m. Eastern time — some of the busiest hours of the workweek — the moon’s shadow will hit land in Newport, Ore. and leave the continent near Charleston, S.C.

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